Gene derived from coryneform bacteria and use thereof

ABSTRACT

The L-lysine productivity of an L-lysine producing Coryneform bacterium is enhanced by amplifying a novel gene derived from a Coryneform bacterium and participating in L-glutamic acid production, while the L-glutamic acid productivity of an L-glutamic acid-producing Coryneform bacterium is enhanced by suppressing the function of the gene.

This application is a 371 of PCT/JP95/00269 filed Feb. 23, 1995.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to breeding and use of Coryneform bacteria which are used for the fermentative production of L-amino acids such as L-glutamic acid and L-lysine and other substances, and the use thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

When Coryneform bacteria are cultivated in a medium having a limited amount of biotin, they produce a large amount of L-glutamic acid. On the other hand, when the Coryneform bacteria are cultivated in a medium containing an excess amount of biotin, they do not produce L-glutamic acid. However, it is known that if a surfactant or penicillin is added to a medium containing such an excess amount of biotin, the growth of the bacteria in this medium is inhibited and the bacteria produce a large amount of L-glutamic acid therein.

To make Coryneform bacteria produce L-glutamic acid, any of the following means is effective.

1. The biotin concentration in the medium is made suboptimal. Refer to S. Okumura, T. Tsugawa, T. Tsunoda and A. Kitai, Nippon Nogeikagaku Kaishi, 36, 197-203 (1962).

2. A surfactant is added to the medium provided that a sufficient amount of biotin is present. Refer to I. Shiio, H. Otsuka and N. Atsuya, J. Biochem., 53, 333-340 (1963); K. Takinami, H. Okada and T. Tsunoda, Agr. Biol. Chem., 27, 853-863 (1963).

3. Penicillin is added to the medium provided that a sufficient amount of biotin is present. Refer to U.S. Pat. No. 3,080,297; Japanese Patent Publication No. 37-1695 (1962); M. Shibui, T. Kurima, S. Okabe and T. Osawa, Amino Acid and Nucleic Acid, 17, 61-65 (1968).

The mechanisms in these means have been considered in the following way.

With respect to L-glutamic acid production by limitation of biotin, the major factor is considered as follows: Biotin is a coenzyme for acetyl-CoA carboxylase for the synthesis of fatty acids and, in addition, unsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic acid, and their derivatives have a substitutive effect for biotin. Therefore, biotin will have an influence on the composition of fatty acids constituting the cell membrane, thereby varying the permeability of L-glutamic acid through the cell membrane (I. Shiio, S. Otsuka and M. Takahashi, J. Biochem., 51, 56-62 (1962); I. Shiio, K. Narui, N. Yahaba and M. Takahashi, J. Biochem., 51, 109-111 (1962)).

The production of L-glutamic acid by addition of a surfactant or penicillin has also been considered with reference to the variation in the permeability of L-glutamic acid through the cytoplasmic membrane because of the variation in the structure of cell surface (Shiio, S. Otsuka and N, Katsuya, J. Biochem., 53, 333-340 (1963)).

As mentioned above, the production of L-glutamic acid has been discussed with reference to its permeability through cell membrane, but no finding directly verifying the relationship therebetween has been obtained.

There have been many unclear matters with regard to by what mechanisms the limitation of biotin or the addition of a surfactant or penicillin improves the ability of Coryneform bacteria to produce L-glutamic acid.

In addition, no information on the gene level, which will be an important key factor for clarifying these mechanisms, has been available.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to clarify the mechanism of L-glutamic acid-production possessed by Coryneform bacteria, specifically the function of the surfactant to be added in the mechanism of L-glutamic acid production possessed by Coryneform bacteria, and to breed and improve Coryneform bacteria producing L-glutamic acid and the like on the basis of the information thus obtained.

Specifically, the object of the present invention is to clarify, on the gene level, the mechanisms of L-glutamic acid-production by Coryneform bacteria, to isolate a gene of Coryneform bacteria that participates in surfactant resistance, and to apply the thus-obtained gene to the breeding of L-glutamic acid-producing Coryneform bacteria and to the production of L-glutamic acid and the like by Coryneform bacteria.

The present inventors have intensively studied so as to attain the above-mentioned object and, as a result, have found the existence of a gene which will participate in the L-glutamic acid-production by Coryneform bacteria (the gene is hereinafter referred to as dtsR gene, and the protein encoded by the gene is referred to as DTSR protein). In addition, we have found a valuable use for this gene. On the basis of these findings, we have completed the present invention.

The present invention includes the following embodiments:

(1) A gene derived from a Coryneform bacterium and coding for a protein which imparts surfactant resistance to said bacterium.

(2) The gene according to (1), wherein the protein comprises an amino acid sequence of amino acid number 37 to 543 in the amino acid sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 2 in the Sequence Listing, or an amino acid sequence having, in the amino acid sequence, substitution, deletion or insertion which does not substantially adversely affect on activity to impart the surfactant resistance to Coryneform bacteria.

(3) The gene according to (1), which has a sequence of from 467th to 1987th nucleotides in the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 in the Sequence Listing, or a nucleotide sequence which is substantially the same as the sequence.

(4) A recombinant DNA obtainable by ligating a vector which functions in Coryneform bacteria to the gene as defined in (1), (2) or (3).

(5) A Coryneform bacterium harboring the recombinant DNA as defined in (4).

(6) A method for producing L-lysine comprising cultivating a Coryneform bacterium harboring the recombinant DNA as defined in (4) and capable of producing L-lysine in a liquid medium to produce and accumulate L-lysine in the culture, and collecting the L-lysine.

(7) A gene comprising a nucleotide sequence having substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or more nucleotides in a nucleotide sequence of the gene as defined in (1), (2) or (3) so that a protein encoded by the nucleotide sequence does not normally function regarding an activity to impart surfactant resistance to Coryneform bacteria.

(8) A recombinant DNA obtainable by ligating a vector which functions in Coryneform bacteria to the gene as defined in (7).

(9) A Coryneform bacterium having substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or more nucleotides in a nucleotide sequence of the gene as defined in (1), (2) or (3) or a promoter thereof on chromosome so that a protein having an activity to impart surfactant resistance to Coryneform bacteria does not normally function.

(10) A method for producing L-glutamic acid comprising cultivating a Coryneform bacterium having substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or more nucleotides in a nucleotide sequence of the gene as defined in (1), (2) or (3) or a promoter thereof on chromosome so that a protein having an activity to impart surfactant resistance to Coryneform bacteria does not normally function, and capable of producing L-glutamic acid, in a liquid medium to produce and accumulate L-glutamic acid in the culture, and collecting the L-glutamic acid.

The present invention will be described in detail hereinunder.

Coryneform bacteria as referred to herein are a group of microorganisms defined in Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 8th Ed., p. 599 (1974). The bacteria are aerobic, Gram-positive, non-acid-fast bacilli not having the ability to sporulate, and include bacteria which had been classified as bacteria belonging to the genus Brevibacterium but have now been unified into the genus Corynebacterium see Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 41, 255 (1981)! and also include bacteria of the genus Brevibacterium and Microbacterium which are closely related to the genus Corynebacterium. Of such Coryneform bacteria, those mentioned below, which are known as L-glutamic acid-producing bacteria, are most preferred for use in the present invention.

Corynebacterium acetoacidophilum

Corynebacterium acetoglutamicum

Corynebacterium callunae

Corynebacterium glutamicum

Corynebacterium lilium (Corynebacterium glutamicum)

Corynebacterium melassecola

Brevibacterium divaricatum (Corynebacterium glutamicum)

Brevibacterium lactofermentum (Corynebacterium glutamicum)

Brevibacterium saccharolyticum

Brevibacterium immariophilium

Brevibacterium roseum

Brevibacterium flavum (Corynebacterium glutamicum)

Brevibacterium thiogenitalis

Specifically, the following strains of these bacteria are exemplified:

    ______________________________________     Corynebacterium acetoacidophilum                            ATCC 13870     Corynebacterium acetoglutamicum                            ATCC 15806     Corynebacterium callunae                            ATCC 15991     Corynebacterium glutamicum                            ATCC 13032     Corynebacterium glutamicum                            ATCC 13060     Brevibacterium divaricatum                            ATCC 14020     Brevibacterium lactofermentum                            ATCC 13869     Corynebacterium lilium ATCC 15990     Corynebacterium melassecola                            ATCC 17965     Brevibacterium saccharolyticum                            ATCC 14066     Brevibacterium immariophilium                            ATCC 14068     Brevibacterium roseum  ATCC 13825     Brevibacterium flavum  ATCC 13826     Brevibacterium thiogenitalis                            ATCC 19240     ______________________________________

These strains can be obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 10,801 University Blvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. A registration number has been assigned to each strain of bacteria. Based on the registration number, anyone can obtain the corresponding strain of bacteria from ATCC. The registration numbers of the strains of bacteria deposited in ATCC are described in the ATCC catalog.

Surfactants as referred in the present invention function to accelerate the production of L-glutamic acid by Coryneform bacteria, like penicillin, in a medium containing an excess amount of biotin therein, and these include various nonionic surfactants, cationic surfactants and anionic surfactants see K. Yamada, J. Takahashi and J. Nakamura, the Hakkokogaku Kaishi, 20, 348-350 (1962); K. Udagawa, S. Abe and I. Kinoshita, Hakkokogaku Kaishi, 40, 614-619 (1962)!. Of nonionic surfactants, Tween 60 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate) and Tween 40 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate) have a penicillin-like effect see I. Shiio, S. Otsuka and N. Katsuya, J. Biochem., 53, 333-340 (1963)!. C₃ to C₁₈ free saturated fatty acids have the same effect by themselves see K. Takinami, H. Okada and T. Tsunoda, Agr. Biol. Chem., 28, 114-118 (1964)!. Tween 40 was used in the examples of the present invention.

<1> Isolation of a gene from a Coryneform bacterium participating in surfactant resistance

To isolate a gene from a Coryneform bacterium participating in surfactant resistance, for example, the following process can be employed.

(1) A surfactant-sensitive mutant of a Coryneform bacterium which shows higher sensitivity with regard to surfactants is obtained;

(2) various fragments of a chromosomal DNA prepared from a wild type strain of a Coryneform bacterium are each ligated to a vector that functions in Coryneform bacteria to produce various recombinant DNAS;

(3) the recombinant DNAs each are introduced into cells of the surfactant-sensitive mutant of a Coryneform bacterium to conduct transformation;

(4) from the resulting transformants, strains which have lost the surfactant-sensitivity are selected;

(5) the recombinant DNAs are recovered from the thus-selected surfactant-insensitive transformants; and

(6) the structure of the chromosomal DNA fragment of the wild type strain of a Coryneform bacterium ligated to the vector is analyzed.

The chromosomal DNA fragment of the wild type strain of a Coryneform bacterium thus obtained contains a gene derived from a Coryneform bacterium participating in surfactant resistance. This gene participates at least in the mechanism of the accumulation of L-glutamic acid by Coryneform bacteria in a medium containing a surfactant. In addition, this gene also participates in the production of L-glutamic acid in a medium containing penicillin or containing a limited amount of biotin.

A surfactant-sensitive mutant of a Coryneform bacterium which shows higher sensitivity to surfactants means a mutant of a Coryneform bacterium which grows poorly in a medium containing a surfactant at such a concentration that does not have any influence on the growth of the wild type strain of Coryneform bacteria in the medium. Regarding a surfactant of polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate, a surfactant-sensitive mutant of a Coryneform bacterium grows worse than the corresponding wild type strain in a medium containing the surfactant at a concentration of from 0.1 to 1 mg/dl. On the contrary, the growth of a wild type strain of a Coryneform bacterium is not affected by the presence of the surfactant at a concentration of from 0.1 to 1 mg/dl in the medium. When such a mutant is cultivated in a medium containing an excess amount of biotin to produce L-glutamic acid therein by adding a surfactant, the necessary concentration of the surfactant to be added to the medium may be lower than that in the ordinary case. It is considered that the condition of the cells of the surfactant-sensitive mutant will be similar to that of the cells of the corresponding wild type strain which are exposed to the surfactants.

To obtain a surfactant-sensitive mutant of a Coryneform bacterium, the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 50-126877 (1975) (Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-24593 (1977)) can be employed.

As one example of the surfactant-sensitive mutant of a Coryneform bacterium, mentioned is Brevibacterium lactofermentum (Corynebacterium glutamicum) AJ 11060. This mutant was deposited in the National Institute of Bioscience and Human-Technology, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, under the accession number FERM P-3678.

To prepare various fragments of the chromosomal DNA of a wild type strain of a Coryneform bacterium, the following process may be employed. The wild type strain of a Coryneform bacterium is cultivated in a liquid medium, the cells grown therein are collected, and the chromosomal DNA is recovered from the collected cells according to the method of Saito et al. see H. Saito and K. Miura, Biochem. Biophys., Acta 72, 619 (1963)!. The thus-recovered chromosomal DNA is partially cleaved with restriction enzymes. Four-base recognition enzymes are used as the restriction enzymes, and the cleavage is conducted to prepare various DNA fragments under the condition under which the DNA is incompletely decomposed.

The vector functioning in Coryneform bacteria as referred to herein is, for example, a plasmid which is autonomously replicable in Coryneform bacteria. Specific examples of the vector are mentioned below.

    ______________________________________     pAM 330    see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open                No. 58-67699 (1983)     pHM 1519   see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open                No. 58-77895 (1983)     pAJ 655    see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open                No. 58-192900 (1983)     pAJ 611    see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open                No. 58-192900 (1983)     pAJ 1844   see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open                No. 58-192900 (1983)     pCG 1      see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open                No. 57-134500 (1982)     pCG 2      see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open                No. 58-35197 (1983)     pCG 4      see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open                No. 57-183799 (1982)     pCG 11     see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open                No. 57-183799 (1982)     ______________________________________

To prepare various recombinant DNAs by ligating the vector functioning in Coryneform bacteria and various fragments of the chromosomal DNA of a wild type strain of Coryneform bacteria, the following process may be employed. The vector is first cleaved with a restriction enzyme. The restriction enzyme to be used for cleaving the vector is the same as that used for cleaving the chromosomal DNA, or is such one by which the vector is cleaved to give ends complementary to the ends of the fragment of the chromosomal DNA. The ligation of the vector and the DNA fragment is generally effected via a ligase, such as T4 DNA ligase, etc.

To introduce the recombinant DNA to the surfactant-sensitive mutant of a Coryneform bacterium, any known transformation methods can be employed. For instance, employable are a method of treating recipient cells with calcium chloride so as to increase the permeability of DNA, which has been reported for Escherichia coli K-12 see Mandel, M. and Higa, A., J. Mol. Biol., 53, 159 (1970)!; and a method of preparing competent cells from cells which are at the growth phase followed by introducing the DNA thereinto, which has been reported for Bacillus subtilis see Duncan, C. H., Wilson, G. A. and Young, F. E., Gene, 1, 153 (1977)!. In addition to these, also employable is a method of making DNA-recipient cells into the protoplast or spheroplast which can easily take up recombinant DNAs followed by introducing the recombinant DNA into the cells, which is known to be applicable to Bacillus subtilis, actinomycetes and yeasts see Chang, S. and Choen, S. N., Molec. Gen. Genet., 168, 111 (1979); Bibb, M. J., Ward, J. M. and Hopwood, O. A., Nature, 274, 398 (1978); Hinnen, A., Hicks, J. B. and Fink, G. R., Proc. Natl. Sci., USA, 75, 1929 (1978)!.

The above-mentioned protoplast method for Bacillus subtilis can be employed in the present invention to obtain sufficiently high-level frequency. In addition to this, however, also employable is a method of introducing a DNA into protoplast of cells of a Coryneform bacterium while the protoplast are kept in contact with either polyethylene glycol or polyvinyl alcohol and with divalent metal ions, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-183799 (1982). In this method, carboxymethyl cellulose, dextran, Ficoll, Pluronic F68 (produced by Serva Co.), etc. may also be used, in place of polyethylene glycol or polyvinyl alcohol, so as to accelerate the introduction of DNA to the protoplast cells. In the examples of the present invention, the transformation was conducted by an electric pulse method (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-207791 (1990)).

The method for selecting the strain which has lost the surfactant sensitivity from the transformants will be described below.

DNA fragments having a size of approximately from 4 to 6 kbp, which have been obtained by partially digesting the chromosomal DNA of a wild type strain of a Coryneform bacterium with the restriction enzyme, Sau3AI, are ligated to a plasmid vector which is autonomously replicable both in Escherichia coli and in Coryneform bacteria to construct recombinant DNAs, and these recombinant DNAs are introduced into the competent cells of Escherichia coli DH5 (produced by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.). The resulting transformants are cultivated to prepare a gene library of the wild type strain of a Coryneform bacterium.

By using the recombinant DNA in this gene library, Brevibacterium lactofermentum AJ 11060 is transformed. The resulting transformants are inoculated on a surfactant-free M-CM2G agar plate (containing 5 g of glucose, 10 g of polypeptone, 10 g of yeast extract, 5 g of NaCl, 0.2 g of DL-methionine, 15 g of agar and 4 mg of chloramphenicol in one liter of water, and having a pH of 7.2), and about 40,000 colonies are formed thereon. These colonies are replicated onto a M-CM2G plate containing 30 mg/liter of a surfactant, Tween 40, and the colonies growing well on this surfactant-containing M-CM2G plate are collected. Thus, transformants which have lost the surfactant sensitivity are obtained.

To recover the recombinant DNAs from the thus-obtained transformants which have lost the surfactant sensitivity, the same method as that employed for preparing the chromosomal DNA of the wild type strain of a Coryneform bacterium may be employed. Briefly, the transformants are cultivated in a liquid medium, the cells are collected from the culture, and the recombinant DNAs are recovered from them according to the method of Saito et al. see H. Saito and K. Miura, Biochem. Biophys., Acta 72, 619 (1963)!.

The structure of the chromosomal DNA fragment of the wild type strain of a Coryneform bacterium that has been ligated to the vector is analyzed as follows. The full-length nucleotide sequence of the chromosomal DNA fragment is determined by the dideoxy method which is an ordinary nucleotide sequencing method, and the structure of the DNA is analyzed to determine the positions of the enhancer, the promoter, the operator, the SD sequence, the leader peptide, the attenuator, the initiation codon, the termination codon, the open reading frame, etc.

The gene obtained from the Coryneform bacterium participating in surfactant resistance is dtsR gene, which has a sequence ranging between the 467th to 469th nucleotides (ATG) and 1985th to 1987th nucleotides (CTG) shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 in the Sequence Listing. The amino acid sequence which may be encoded by the gene is shown in SEQ NO: 1 and SEQ NO: 2 in the Sequence Listing. Another ATG (nucleotide number 359-361) is present at the upstream of the ATG of 467th to 469th nucleotides in the same frame and possibility of this ATG being an initiation codon is not denied. However, from analysis of consensus sequence in the upstream region of the gene, it is presumed that the ATG of 467th to 469th nucleotides is an initiation codon. That is, the amino acid sequence of amino acid number 37 to 543 in the amino acid sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 2 is presumed to be the amino acid sequence of the DTSR protein. When the amino acid sequence of the DTSR protein and the nucleotide sequence of dtsR gene are referred to in the present specification and claims, these may be described with ATG of 467th to 469th nucleotides as the initiation codon. However, it should be considered possibility of the ATG of 359th to 361st nucleotides being the initiation codon. For example, if the dtsR gene is introduced to a Coryneform bacterium to enhance the expression, expression of the sequence of nucleotide number 467 to 1987 in the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 is considered to be sufficient. However, one skilled in the art will easily appreciate that when the coding region and the upstream region of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 including nucleotide number 359-466 are introduced to a Coryneform bacterium, the DTSR protein can be properly expressed whichever ATG is the initiation codon. In either case, the N-terminal methionine coded by the initiation codon can be cleaved with an aminopeptidase in the expression of the dtsR gene in the cells.

According to the search on data base, it has been confirmed that the dtsR gene having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 and the DTSR protein encoded by this sequence are novel. It has been found that this protein is homologous to the protein described in Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 83, 8049-8053 (1986); Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 83, 4864-4869 (1986); and Gene, 122, 199-202 (1992), as propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC) β subunit protein. However, none of these references suggests that the protein participates in the production of glutamic acid.

Propionyl-CoA carboxylase is an enzyme that catalyzes one reaction in the metabolic pathway in which α-ketoglutaric acid is converted into succinyl-CoA via 2-hydroxyglutaric acid, propionyl-CoA, D-methylmalonyl-CoA and L-methylmalonyl-CoA, and it seems that the metabolic pathway is a by-pass route for the reaction to be catalyzed by α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase in the TCA cycle. In this connection, it should be specifically noted that propionyl-CoA carboxylase is an enzyme needing biotin as a coenzyme, indicating that the production of glutamic acid in the surfactant-addition method is related to the production of glutamic acid in the biotin-limitation method.

<2> Preparation of a Coryneform bacterium having the recombinant DNA

The recombinant DNA containing the dtsR gene from a Coryneform bacterium participating in surfactant resistance, which is obtained in the foregoing item <1>, is prepared in vitro, and is introduced into Coryneform bacteria. By the introduction, a Coryneform bacterium can be prepared in which the intracellular concentration of the DTSR protein is increased. The general means for this purpose is to enhance the intracellular expression of the dtsR gene or to increase the number of copies of the dtsR gene in the cells.

To enhance the intracellular expression of the dtsR gene, the gene is ligated downstream of a strong promoter. The dtsR gene is exemplified by a nucleotide sequence which codes for an amino acid sequence of amino acid number 37 to 543 in the amino acid sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 2. Specifically, a nucleotide sequence of nucleotide number 467 to 1987 in the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 and a nucleotide sequence which is substantially the same as the nucleotide sequence are mentioned. The term "nucleotide sequence which is substantially the same" used herein means a nucleotide sequence coding for a protein which is substantially the same as the protein encoded by the nucleotide sequence of nucleotide number 467 to 1987 with respect to the activity to impart surfactant resistance to Coryneform bacteria. As to these nucleotide sequences, the coded DTSR protein may have substitution, deletion or insertion of an amino acid which does not substantially affect on the activity to impart surfactant resistance to Coryneform bacteria.

As strong promoters functioning intracellularly in Coryneform bacteria, known are the lac promoter, tac promoter and Trp promoter derived from Escherichia coli see Y. Morinaga, M. Tsuchiya, K. Miwa and K. Sano, J. Biotech., 5, 305-312 (1987)!. The trp promoter derived from a Coryneform bacterium is also preferred (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-195294 (1987)).

The DNA containing the dtsR gene and the DNA containing such a promoter are prepared separately, and these are ligated to each other in vitro. To cleave these DNAs and to ligate them together, restriction enzymes and a ligase are employed, respectively. The recombinant DNA obtained by the ligation is then introduced into cells of a Coryneform bacterium. For the introduction, the same process as that referred to in the foregoing item <1> can be employed.

To introduce the recombinant DNA comprising a strong promoter and the dtsR gene into cells of a Coryneform bacterium, a vector functioning in the cells of the Coryneform bacterium must be used. When the vector referred to in item <1> is used in this step, the recombinant DNA is held outside the chromosome. In order to make the recombinant DNA hold onto the chromosomal DNA, a temperature-sensitive plasmid such as that described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-7491 (1993) is used as the vector, and the cells are cultivated at a nonpermissible temperature to cause homologous recombination.

The expression of the dtsR gene by the thus-obtained cells of the Coryneform bacterium having therein the recombinant DNA comprising a strong promoter and the dtsR gene is enhanced and the intracellular concentration of the DTSR protein is increased.

When the DNA containing the dtsR gene is ligated to a multi-copy plasmid and introduced into cells of a Coryneform bacterium, the number of copies of the said gene in the cells is increased. As examples of such a multi-copy plasmid, those mentioned in item <1> are referred to.

Also, employable is a process for causing homologous recombination by using, as a target, a sequence that exists in large numbers on the chromosomal DNA of a Coryneform bacterium. As one example of the sequence much existing on the chromosomal DNA of the Coryneform bacterium, mentioned is an insertion sequence existing at both ends of the transposal element of the Coryneform bacterium. The sequence and a method of causing such homologous recombination by using the sequence are disclosed in International Publication No. WO 93/18151.

The expression of the dtsR gene by the thus-obtained cells of a Coryneform bacterium in which the number of copies of the dtsR gene has been increased is enhanced, and the intracellular concentration of the DTSR protein is increased.

<3> Production of L-lysine by Coryneform bacteria having the recombinant DNA therein

Various artificial mutants have heretofore been used as L-lysine-producing bacteria. Using these as the hosts, the recombinant DNA of the present invention can be introduced into them to improve their L-lysine productivity. Such artificial mutants are as follows:

S-(2-aminoethyl)-cysteine (hereinafter referred to as "AEC")-resistant mutants; mutants requiring amino acids such as L-homoserine for their growth (see Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 48-28078 (1973) and 56-6499 (1981)); mutants resistant to AEC and requiring amino acids such as L-leucine, L-homoserine, L-proline, L-serine, L-arginine, L-alanine, L-valine, etc. (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,708,395 and 3,825,472);

L-lysine-producing mutants resistant to DL-α-amino-ε-caprolactam, α-amino-lauryl-lactam, aspartic acid analogues, sulfa drugs, quinoids and N-lauroyl-leucine, and L-lysine-producing mutants resistant to oxaloacetate decarboxylase inhibitors or respiratory system enzyme inhibitors (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 50-53588 (1975), 50-31093 (1975), 52-102498 (1977), 53-9394 (1978), 53-86089 (1978), 55-9783 (1980), 55-9759 (1980), 56-32995 (1981), 56-39778 (1981), Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 53-43591 (1978) and 53-1833 (1978));

L-lysine-producing mutants requiring inositol or acetic acid (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 55-9784 (1980) and 56-8692 (1981)); L-lysine-producing mutants sensitive to fluoropyruvic acid or to temperatures of 34° C. or higher (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-86090 (1978));

L-lysine-producing mutants of Brevibacterium or Corynebacterium resistant to ethylene glycol (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,997).

As specific examples, the following strains are referred to.

Brevibacterium lactofermentum AJ 12031 (FERM BP-277); see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-62994 (1985).

Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC 39134; see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-62994 (1985).

Corynebacterium glutamicum AJ 3463 (FERM P-1987); see Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-34477 (1976).

Brevibacterium lactofermentum AJ 12435 (FERM BP-2294); see U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,476.

Brevibacterium lactofermentum AJ 12592 (FERM BP3239); see U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,476.

Corynebacterium glutamicum AJ 12596 (FERM BP-3242); see U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,476.

In the Coryneform bacterium obtained by introducing the recombinant DNA of the present invention into these L-lysine-producing bacteria according to the process in the foregoing item <2>, the intracellular concentration of the DTSR protein is increased, and the resultant bacterium has the ability to produce a large amount of L-lysine.

The medium used for the production of L-lysine may be ordinary medium containing carbon sources, nitrogen sources, inorganic ions and, if desired, other minor organic nutrients.

Saccharides such as hydrolysates of starch, etc.; alcohols such as ethanol, inositol, etc.; organic acids such as acetic acid, fumaric acid, citric acid, succinic acid, etc are usable.

As the nitrogen sources, usable are inorganic ammonium salts such as ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, ammonium phosphate, etc.; organic nitrogen compounds such as hydrolysates of soybeans, etc.; as well as ammonia gas, aqueous ammonia, etc.

As the inorganic ions, small amounts of potassium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, iron ions, manganese ions, etc. are added to the medium. As the minor organic nutrients, essential substances such as vitamin Bi, etc., as well as yeast extract, etc are preferably contained in suitable amounts, if necessary.

It is recommended that the cultivation is performed under an aerobic condition for 16 to 72 hours at a temperature ranging from 30 to 45° C., and during the cultivation, the pH of the media is controlled to between 5 and 7. To adjust the pH, inorganic or organic, acidic or alkaline substances, ammonia gas, etc. can be used.

The collection of L-lysine from the fermentation liquid may be conducted by an ordinary ion-exchange method, a precipitation method and other known methods in combination.

<4> Preparation of Coryneform bacteria in which the DTSR protein does not normally function

The dtsR gene has been obtained as a gene that imparts resistance to surfactants to a Coryneform bacteria, as mentioned in the foregoing item <1>. Therefore, it was expected that the strain with the amplified dtsR gene would no longer produce L-glutamic acid in a medium to which a surfactant was added at a concentration at which the wild type strain of a Coryneform bacterium produces L-glutamic acid in the presence of an excess amount of biotin. In consideration of this, the effect of the amplification of the dtsR gene in the production of L-glutamic acid by adding a surfactant was investigated according to the method shown in the examples described below, and, as was expected, the noticeable inhibition of the production of L-glutamic acid was observed. In addition, it was confirmed that the amplification of the dtsR gene also resulted in the suppression of the production of L-glutamic acid in the biotin-limiting method and in the penicillin-adding method in the presence of an excess amount of biotin. These results indicate that the dtsR gene does not only make the strain resistant to surfactants but also plays an important role in the production of L-glutamic acid.

For these reasons, it was expected that if, opposite to the above, the expression of the dtsR gene is inhibited and the intracellular concentration or activity of the DTSR protein is lowered, the ability of the cells to produce L-glutamic acid might be improved and L-glutamic acid might be produced especially in a medium containing an excess amount of biotin without adding any biotin activity-suppressing substance such as surfactants or antibiotics. In consideration of this, a strain in which the dtsR gene of the wild type strain was disrupted was prepared and the ability of the thus-modified strain to produce L-glutamic acid was examined, and it has been confirmed that the dtsR gene-disrupted mutant strain produced a large amount of L-glutamic acid even if biotin is present at a high concentration at which the wild type strain produces little L-glutamic acid, as is demonstrated in the examples as described below.

The strain in which the dtsR gene is mutated can be obtained by a method inducing mutation by use of a chemical agent or by a breeding method using recombinant DNA technique. When the gene has already been obtained, the recombinant DNA technique is employed, whereby the gene can easily be disrupted by homologous recombination. The means of disrupting a gene by homologous recombination has already been established. For this, employable are a method of using a linear DNA and a method of using a temperature-sensitive plasmid.

Specifically, by site-specific mutation see Kramer, W. and Faits, H. J., Methods in Enzymology, 154, 350 (1987)! or mutation with chemicals such as sodium hyposulfite, hydroxylamine, etc. see Shortle, D. and Nathans, D., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 75, 270 (1978)!, the substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or more nucleotides is made in the nucleotide sequence of the coding region or of the promoter region in the dtsR gene. The thus-modified or disrupted gene is substituted for the normal gene on the chromosome, thereby lowering or vanishing the activity of the genetic product, DTSR protein, or lowering or vanishing the transcription of the gene.

In the site-specific mutagenesis, synthetic oligonucleotides are used, and according to this method, it is possible to introduce any desired substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion to only (a) limited base pair(s). To carry out this method, a plasmid having the intended gene which has been cloned and whose nucleotide sequence has been determined, is first denatured to prepare a single-stranded DNA. Next, a synthetic oligonucleotide complementary to the site to be mutated is prepared. The synthetic oligonucleotide shall be such that it does not have a completely complementary sequence but may have any desired nucleotide substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion. After this, the single-stranded DNA is annealed with the synthetic oligonucleotide having such a desired nucleotide substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion. Then, this is formed into a complete double-stranded plasmid, using the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I and T4 ligase. The resulting plasmid is then introduced into the competent cell of Escherichia coli. Some of these transformants thus obtained have a plasmid containing the gene that has the desired nucleotide substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion fixed therein. As a similar method for modifying or disrupting the gene by introducing the mutation, known is the recombinant PCR method see PCR Technology, Stockton Press (1989)!.

The chemical treatment method is a method for directly treating the DNA fragment containing the intended gene with sodium hyposulfite, hydroxylamine or the like chemical thereby randomly introducing the mutation having nucleotide substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion into the DNA fragment.

Whether or not the desired mutation is introduced can be confirmed by transforming a surfactant-sensitive mutant with the DNA fragment subjected to mutation treatment and determining the presence of surfactant resistance of the resultant transformant. On this occasion, by examining growth both at high temperature and at low temperature within temperature at which the Coryneform bacteria can usually grow, and selecting a transformant which can grow at the low temperature and the growth of which is inhibited at higher temperature, a mutated gene which becomes temperature-sensitive can be obtained.

As the means of substituting the thus-obtained gene that has been modified or disrupted by the introduction of the mutation for the normal gene on the chromosome of a Coryneform bacterium, employable is a method of using homologous recombination see Experiments in Molecular Genetics, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (1972); Matsuyama, S. and Mizushima, S., J. Bacteriol., 162, 1196 (1985)!. According to homologous recombination, when a plasmid or the like having a sequence which is homologous to the sequence of the chromosome is introduced into the cell, a recombination occurs at the sites having the homologous sequence at a certain frequency whereby the complete plasmid introduced is incorporated into the chromosome. After this, when a further recombination occurs at the sites having the homologous sequence on the chromosome, the plasmid is removed from the chromosome. By the latter recombination, the gene into which the mutation has been introduced is fixed onto the chromosome, depending on the recombined site, and the original normal gene may be removed from the chromosome along with the plasmid. By selecting such a strain, it is possible to obtain a strain in which the gene modified or disrupted by the introduction thereinto of the mutation having nucleotide substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion has been substituted for the normal gene on the chromosome.

<5> Production of L-glutamic acid by Coryneform bacteria in which the DTSR protein does not normally function

As described above, a strain which is the L-glutamic acid-producing Coryneform bacterium and in which intracellular concentration or activity the DTSR protein is lowered, that is, a strain in which the DTSR protein does not normally function is improved in productivity of L-glutamic acid. Especially, the strain can produce L-glutamic acid without addition of biotin activity-suppressing substance such as a surfactant or antibiotic even if biotin is present in an excess amount.

For obtaining a mutant in which the DTSR protein does not normally function by breeding Coryneform bacteria having the ability to produce L-glutamic acid, a glutamic acid-producing wild type strain or a mutant derived therefrom of Coryneform bacteria can be used as the starting strain. As examples of the mutant, the following are mentioned:

Brevibacterium lactofermentum AJ 12745 (FERM-BP 2922); see U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,067.

Brevibacterium lactofermentum AJ 12746 (FERM-BP 2923); see U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,067.

Brevibacterium flavum AJ 12747 (FERM-BP 2924); see U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,067.

Corynebacterium glutamicum AJ 12478 (FERM-BP 2925); see U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,067.

Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 21492.

The medium to be used for the production of L-glutamic acid may be ordinary medium containing carbon sources, nitrogen sources, inorganic ions and, if desired, other minor organic nutrients.

As the carbon sources, usable are saccharides such as glucose, lactose, galactose, fructose, hydrolysates of starch, etc.; alcohols such as ethanol, inositol, etc.; organic acids such as acetic acid, fumaric acid, citric acid, succinic acid, etc.

As the nitrogen sources, usable are inorganic ammonium salts such as ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, ammonium phosphate, etc.; organic nitrogen compounds such as hydrolysates of soybeans, etc.; as well as ammonia gas, aqueous ammonia, etc.

As the inorganic ions, small amounts of potassium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, iron ions, manganese ions, etc. are added to the medium. As the minor organic nutrients, essential substances such as vitamin B₁, etc., as well as yeast extract, etc are preferably contained in suitable amounts, if necessary.

It is recommended that the cultivation is carried out under an aerobic condition for 16 to 72 hours at a temperature ranging from 30 to 45° C., and during the cultivation, the pH of the medium is kept at from 5 to 8. To adjust the pH, inorganic or organic, acidic or alkaline substances, ammonia gas, etc. can be used.

Surfactants or penicillin may be added to the medium where the dtsR gene-disrupted strain thus obtained is cultivated, or the biotin concentration in the medium may be limited. In this way, the yield of L-glutamic acid to be produced in the medium may be increased further.

The collection of L-glutamic acid from the fermentation liquid may be effected by an ordinary ion exchange method, precipitation method and other known methods in combination.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the growth of AJ 11060/pDTR6 (dtsR gene-amplified strain) and AJ 11060/pSAC4 (control) in a surfactant-free or surfactant-added medium.

◯: pDTR6-introduced strain in surfactant-free medium

□: pSAC4-introduced strain in surfactant-free medium

: pDTR6-introduced strain in surfactant-added medium

▪: pSAC4-introduced strain in surfactant-added medium

FIG. 2 shows the degree of surfactant resistance of ATCC 13869/pHSGX-KΔE (deletion-mutation type dtsR gene-amplified strain), ATCC 13869/pDTR6 (dtsR gene-amplified strain) and ATCC 13869/pSAC4 (control).

◯: pSAC4-introduced strain

Δ: pHSGX-KΔE-introduced strain

▴: pDTR6-introduced strain

FIG. 3 shows the growth curve of AJ 11060/pDTR6 and AJ 11060/pSAC4 in a medium containing 300 or 3 μg/liter of biotin.

◯: pDTR6-introduced strain in the presence of 300 μg/liter of biotin

□: pSAC4-introduced strain in the presence of 300 μg/liter of biotin

: pDTR6-introduced strain in the presence of 3 μg/liter of biotin

▪: pSAC4-introduced strain in the presence of 3 μg/liter of biotin

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples.

EXAMPLE 1

(Preparation of chromosomal DNA of Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC 13869 (a wild type strain of Coryneform bacteria)

Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC 13869 was inoculated in 100 ml of a T-Y medium containing 1% Bacto-tripton (by Difco), 0.5% Bacto-yeast extract (by Difco) and 0.5% NaCl; pH 7.2! and cultivated at 31.5° C. for 8 hours to obtain a culture. This culture was subjected to centrifugation at 3,000 r.p.m. for 15 minutes to obtain 0.5 g of wet cells. From the wet cells, obtained was the chromosomal DNA according to Saito & Miura method (see Biochem. Biophys. Acta. 72, 619, (1963)). Next, 60 μg of the chromosomal DNA and 3 units of a restriction enzyme, Sau3AI were each mixed in 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer (containing 50 mM NaCl, 10 mM MgSO₄ and 1 mM dithiothreitol; pH 7.4), and the reaction was carried out at 37° C. for 30 minutes. After the reaction, the reaction mixture was subjected to ordinary phenol extraction and ethanol precipitation to obtain 50 μg of chromosomal DNA fragments of Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC 13869 digested with Sau3AI.

EXAMPLE 2

(Preparation of gene library of Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC 13869, using plasmid vector DNA)

20 μg of a plasmid vector DNA (pSAC4) capable of autonomously replicating in both the cells of Escherichia coli and the cells of Coryneform bacteria and 200 units of a restriction enzyme, BamHI were mixed in 50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (containing 100 mM NaCl and 10 mM magnesium sulfate; pH 7.4) and reacted at 37° C. for 2 hours to obtain a digested solution, and the solution was then subjected to ordinary phenol extraction and ethanol precipitation. After this, the DNA fragment was dephosphorylated with bacterial alkaline phosphatase according to the method described in Molecular Cloning, 2nd Edition J. Sambrook, E. F. Fritsch and T. Maniatis, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, p.1.56 (1989)! so as to prevent the re-binding of the plasmid vector-derived DNA fragment, and then the thus-dephosphorylated DNA fragment was subjected to ordinary phenol extraction and ethanol precipitation.

One μg of this pSAC4 digested with BamHI, 1 μg of the chromosomal DNA fragments of Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC 13869 digested with Sau3AI, that had been obtained in Example 1, and 2 units of T4 DNA ligase (produced by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.) were added to 66 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.5) containing 66 mM magnesium chloride, 10 mM dithiothreitol and 10 mM ATP and reacted therein at 16° C. for 16 hours to conduct the ligation of the DNA. Next, cells of Escherichia coli DH5 were transformed with said DNA mixture by an ordinary method, and the resulting transformant cells were inoculated onto an L-agar medium containing 170 μg/ml of chloramphenicol to obtain about 20,000 colonies constituting a gene library.

EXAMPLE 3

(Transformation of Brevibacterium lactofermentum AJ 11060)

From these approximately 20,000 colonies mentioned above, the recombinant DNAs were recovered according to the above-mentioned Saito and Miura method.

The recombinant DNA mixture which was divided into 50 batches, was introduced into cells of the strain AJ 11060, a mutant being sensitive to surfactants, by ordinary transformation using electric pulse (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-207791 (1990)). The resulting transformant cells were inoculated onto a glucose-added L-agar medium and the cultivation was performed by static incubation at 31.5° C., whereby about 20,000 colonies of transformants were formed on the medium. Next, these transformant colonies were replicated to the same plate medium but containing 30 mg/liter of the surfactant, and several strains that were resistant to the surfactant and grown on the plate medium were obtained therefrom.

EXAMPLE 4

(Measurement of surfactant resistance of strains having multi-copies of dtsR gene)

The recombinant DNA was extracted from each of the several strains that had been grown, and Brevibacterium lactofermentum AJ 11060 was re-transformed with the DNA. From the resulting transformants, one surfactant-resistant strain was selected. The recombinant DNA of this strain is designated as pDTR6, and the gene which is carried by this plasmid and which has the ability to make the strain resistant to the surfactant is designated as dtsR. The inhibition of the growth of AJ 11060, into which the plasmid had been introduced, in a surfactant(3 g/liter)-added liquid medium is suppressed (see FIG. 1).

EXAMPLE 5

(Preparation of DNA)

The plasmid was prepared from AJ 11060/pDTR6 having the recombinant DNA that had been obtained in the above, by an ordinary method, and this was introduced into Escherichia coli JM 109. The resulting Escherichia coli JM 109/pDTR6 was cultivated in 20 ml of a medium containing 1% of tryptone, 0.5% of yeast extract and 0.5% of NaCl, at 37° C. for 24 hours, and 20 ml of the resulting culture was inoculated in one liter of a medium having the same composition as above and cultivation was performed at 37° C. for 3 hours. Then, 0.2 g of chloramphenicol was added thereto, and the cultivation was continued for additional 20 hours at the same temperature to obtain a culture. Next, the resulting culture was centrifuged at 3,000 r.p.m. for 10 minutes to obtain 2 g of wet cells. The obtained cells were suspended in 20 ml of 350 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 8.0) containing 25% of sucrose, and then 10 mg of lysozyme (produced by Sigma Co.), 8 ml of 0.25M EDTA solution (pH 8.0) and 8 ml of 20% sodium dodecylsulfate solution were added thereto. Then, the resulting suspension was heated at 60° C. for 30 minutes to obtain a lysate. 13 ml of 5M NaCl solution was added to the lysate, and the lysate was then treated at 4° C. for 16 hours. After the treatment, this was centrifuged at 15,000 r.p.m. for 30 minutes. The supernatant thus obtained was subjected to ordinary phenol extraction and ethanol precipitation to obtain a DNA precipitate.

The precipitate was dried under reduced pressure and then dissolved in 6 ml of 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.5) containing 1 mM EDTA, and 6 g of cesium chloride and 0.2 ml of ethidium bromide (19 mg/ml) were added thereto. Then, this was subjected to equilibrium density gradient centrifugation, using an ultracentrifugater, at 39,000 r.p.m. for 42 hours, by which the DNA was isolated. Next, ethidium bromide was removed from this, using n-butanol, and thereafter this was subjected to dialysis against 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5) containing 1 mM EDTA to obtain about 500 μg of a purified recombinant DNA, pDTR6. A private number AJ 12967 was assigned to Escherichia coli JM109/pDTR6. This strain was deposited on Feb. 22, 1994 in National Institute of Bioscience and Human-Technology, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, with the accession number FERM P-14168, and transferred on Feb. 9, 1995 to the international deposit under the Budapest Treaty with the accession number FERM BP-4994.

EXAMPLE 6

(Analysis of nucleotide sequence of DNA having dtsR gene)

The nucleotide sequence of the recombinant DNA obtained in Example 5 was determined. The sequencing was effected according to the Sanger method, using a Taq DyeDeoxy Terminator Cycle Sequencing Kit (produced by Applied Biochemical Co.). The nucleotide sequence of the DNA thus obtained is shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 in the Sequence Listing. While the longest open reading frame in this sequence is a nucleotide sequence of from 359th A to 1987th G in the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1, it is presumed from analysis of consensus sequence in the upstream region of the gene that ATG of 467th to 469th is an initiation codon. The amino acid sequence which can be encoded by the open reading frame of 359th A to 1987th G is shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 in the Sequence Listing together with the nucleotide sequence. Further, only the amino acid sequence is shown by SEQ ID NO: 2 in the Sequence Listing. A protein encoded by the nucleotide sequence of from 467th to 1987th nucleotides is designated as the DTSR protein.

It is well known that the N-terminal methionine residue of protein is deleted after translation by the action of peptidase. This is because the N-terminal methionine is derived from the translation initiation codon, ATG, and therefore has no relation to the intrinsic function of protein in most cases. Also in the DTSR protein of the present invention, there is a probability that the methionine residue is deleted.

The nucleotide sequence and the amino acid sequence were compared with known sequences with respect to the homology. The data bases used for the comparison were EMBL and SWISS-PROT. As a result, it has been confirmed that the gene represented by SEQ ID NO: 1 in the Sequence Listing and the protein encoded by this are novel.

EXAMPLE 7

(Confirmation of participation of dtsR gene in surfactant resistance)

The open reading frame was identified by the nucleotide sequencing, which suggested the existence of DTSR protein. In order to further confirm that the gene which imparts surfactant resistance to Coryneform bacteria exists in this region, a part of gene in the region of the open reading frame was deleted in an in-frame manner from the gene fragment represented by SEQ ID NO: 1 in the Sequence Listing, and this gene fragment was investigated as to whether or not it has an activity of imparting surfactant resistance to Coryneform bacteria. Specifically, pDTR6 was digested with XbaI and KpNI to obtain a fragment containing dtsR gene. This gene fragment was ligated to a fragment of plasmid pHSG398 (produced by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.) that had been treated with XbaI and KpnI, using T4 DNA ligase (produced by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.), to prepare plasmid pHSGX-K. The dtsR gene has two sites that are digested with Eco52I, at the nucleotides 766 and 1366 in SEQ ID NO: 1. PHSGX-K was completely digested with Eco52I and then self-ligated to prepare plasmid pHSGX-KΔE from which 600 base pairs of the Eco52I fragments were deleted. The structure of the dtsR gene on this pHSGX-KΔE was such that the center part was deleted in an in-frame manner.

Next, in order to make pHSGX-KΔE capable of autonomously replicating in Coryneform bacteria, the replication origin derived from a known plasmid, pHM1519, capable of self-amplification in Coryneform bacteria (see Miwa, K. et al., Agric. Biol. Chem. 48, 2901-2903 (1984); Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-7491 1993)) was introduced into the only one KpnI cleavage site existing on pHSGX-KΔE. Specifically, pHM1519 was digested with restriction enzymes, BamH1 and KpnI to obtain a gene fragment having a replication origin, and the resulting fragment was made to have blunt ends, using a blunting kit produced by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd, and then introduced into the KpnI site of pHSGX-KΔE, using a KpnI linker (produced by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.), to obtain pKCX-KΔE. As a control sample, the replication origin of pHM1519 was inserted into the SalI site of pHSG399, using SalI linker (produced by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.) to prepare pSAC4. These pKCX-KΔE and pSAC4 prepared herein were separately introduced into cells of a wild type strain of Coryneform bacteria, Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC 13869, according to the above-mentioned electric pulse method, and the resulting transformants were examined with respect to the degree of surfactant resistance. For the examination, the cells were cultivated in a M-CM2G liquid medium, to which from 0 to 10 mg/dl of polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate had been added, and the degree of the cell growth in the culture was measured.

As a result, it was verified that the deletion-type dtsR gene had lost the function to impart the surfactant resistances.

EXAMPLE 8

(Production of L-glutamic acid using dtsR gene-amplified strain by biotin-limiting method)

The strain AJ 11060/pDTR6 was cultivated to produce L-glutamic acid, according to the biotin-limiting method, as mentioned below. Specifically, the strain AJ 11060/pDTR6 was separately cultivated on an M-CM2G plate medium containing 4 mg/liter of chloramphenicol. Then, the grown cells were inoculated in a medium containing 80 g of glucose, 1 g of KH₂ PO₄, 0.4 g of MgSO₄.7H₂ O, 30 g of (NH₄)₂ SO₄, 0.01 g of FeSO₄.7H₂ O, 0.01 g of MnSO₄.7H₂ O, 15 ml of soybean hydrolysate solution, 200 μg of thiamine hydrochloride, 60 μg of biotin, 4 mg of chloramphenicol and 50 g of CaCO₃ in one liter of pure water (the pH of the medium having been adjusted to 7.0 with KOH) and cultivated therein at 31.5° C. for 20 hours. The resulting culture was inoculated in the same medium as above but not containing biotin (this medium is hereinafter referred to as a "biotin-limited medium"), at a concentration of 5% by volume, and the cultivation was carried out at 31.5° C. for about 20 hours.

While cultivating the strain AJ 11060/pDTR6 in the biotin-limited medium, the amount of biotin required by the unit weight of the cells grown in the medium was measured (see FIG. 3). As a control, the strain AJ 11060/pSAC4 was cultivated in the same manner as above.

The amounts of the grown cells of the strain AJ 11060/pDTR6 were larger than that of the control. Thus, the biotin demand per unit weight of the grown cells of the AJ 11060/pDTR6 was lowered than that of the strain AJ 11060/pSAC4.

EXAMPLE 9

(Production of L-lysine by dtsR aene-amplified strain)

pDTR6 was introduced into an L-lysine-producing strain of Coryneform bacteria, Brevibacterium lactofermentum AJ 12435 (FERM BP-2294), by an electric pulse method. The resulting transformant was cultivated in a medium mentioned below to produce L-lysine.

Specifically, the strain was cultivated on an M-CM2G plate medium containing 4 mg/liter of chloramphenicol, and the thus-obtained cells were inoculated in a medium containing 100 g of glucose, 1 g of KH₂ PO₄, 0.4 g of MgSO₄, 30 g of (NH₄)₂ SO₄, 0.01 g of FeSO₄.7H₂ O, 0.01 g of MnSO₄.7H₂ O, 15 ml of soybean hydrolysate solution, 200 μg of thiamine hydrochloride, 300 μg of biotin, 4 mg of chloramphenicol and 50 g of CaCO₃ in one liter of pure water (the pH of the medium having been adjusted to 7.0 with KOH) at 32° C. for 40 hours. As a control, a strain into which pSAC4 is introduced in the same manner instead of pDTR6 was used. The results are shown in Table 1.

                  TABLE 1     ______________________________________     Strain         L-lysine (g/liter)     ______________________________________     AJ 12435/pSAC4 15     AJ 12435/pDTR6 25     ______________________________________

REFERENCE EXAMPLE 1

(Production of L-glutamic acid using dtsR gene-amplified strain by surfactant-added method)

By adding a surfactant as a biotin activity-suppressing agent, the strain AJ 11060 can produce a large amount of L-glutamic acid even if a high concentration of biotin is present. However, since dtsR gene-amplified strains have elevated surfactant resistance, it was considered that the production of glutamic acid by these strains will be decreased, even though a surfactant is added. The strains AJ 11060/pSAC4 and AJ 11060/pDTR6 were cultivated to produce L-glutamic acid, according to the surfactant-added method mentioned below. Specifically, the strains were each cultivated on an M-CM2G plate medium containing 4 mg/liter of chloramphenicol. Then, the cells were inoculated onto a medium containing 80 g of glucose, 1 g of KH₂ PO₄, 0.4 g of MgSO₄.7H₂ O, 30 g of (NH₄)₂ SO₄, 0.01 g of FeSO₄.7H₂ O, 0.01 g of MnSO₄.7H₂ O, 15 ml of soybean hydrolysate solution, 200 μg of thiamine hydrochloride, 300 μg of biotin, 4 mg of chloramphenicol, 3.0 g of polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate and 50 g of CaCO₃ in one liter of pure water (the pH of the medium having been adjusted to 8.0 with KOH) and cultivated therein at 31.5° C. for 20 hours.

After the cultivation, the amount of L-glutamic acid produced and accumulated in each culture was measured. The yields obtained are shown in Table 2. The yield is shown as a yield of L-glutamic acid based on the sugar added in the medium (weight basis).

                  TABLE 2     ______________________________________     Strain       Yield of L-glutamic Acid (%)     ______________________________________     AJ 11060/pSAC4                  29.6     AJ 11060/pDTR6                  9.0     ______________________________________

By amplifying the dtsR gene, the yield of L-glutamic acid remarkably reduced. This indicates that the DTSR protein closely involves in the production of L-glutamic acid by the surfactant-added method.

REFERENCE EXAMPLE 2

(Production of L-glutamic acid using dtsR gene-amplified strain by penicillin-added method)

The strains AJ 11060/pSAC4 and AJ 11060/pDTR6 were cultivated to produce L-glutamic acid by the penicillin-added method in the same manner as in Reference Example 1, except that 30 units of penicillin G was added to the medium in place of polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate. The results are shown in Table 3.

                  TABLE 3     ______________________________________     Strain       Yield of L-glutamic Acid (%)     ______________________________________     AJ 11060/pSAC4                  27.6     AJ 11060/pDTR6                  12.8     ______________________________________

By amplifying the dtsR gene, the yield of L-glutamic acid remarkably reduced. This indicates that the DTSR protein also involves in the production of L-glutamic acid by the penicillin-added method, as well as the production of L-glutamic acid by the surfactant-added method.

EXAMPLE 10

(Production of dtsR gene-disrupted strain)

Since it was found that the production of L-glutamic acid was decreased by the amplification of the dtsR gene, it was expected that the disruption of the dtsR gene would result in an increase in the yield of L-glutamic acid. The gene-disrupted strain was obtained by the homologous recombination method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-7491 (1993) using a temperature-sensitive plasmid.

Specifically, the replication origin which had been obtained from a plasmid capable of autonomously replicating in Coryneform bacteria and in which the autonomous replication had become temperature-sensitive, was introduced into the KpnI recognition site of pHSGX-KΔE shown in Example 7, to form plasmid pKTCX-KΔE.

This pKTCX-KΔE was introduced into a wild type strain, Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC 13869 by an electric pulse method, and the dtsR gene on the chromosome was substituted by a deleted-type dtsR gene according to the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-7491 (1993). Specifially, ATCC 13869/pKTCX-KΔE was cultivated by shaking in a M-CM2G liquid medium containing 50 pg/ml of oleic acid at 25° C. for 6 hours, and the culture was inoculated onto an M-CM2G medium containing 5 μg/ml of chloramphenicol and 50 μg/ml of oleic acid. The plasmid-inserted strains formed colonies at 34° C., and these were collected. From the thus-obtained strains, those that had become sensitive to chloramphenicol at 34° C. were selected by a replication method. The chromosomes of these sensitive strains were obtained by an ordinary method, and the structure of the dtsR gene of each of these chromosomes was analyzed by the Southern hybridization method. Thus, the strain in which the dtsR gene had been substituted by a deleted-type dtsR gene was confirmed and designated as a strain ΔE.

EXAMPLE 11

(Estimation of L-Glutamic acid productivity of the strain ΔE)

The strains, ATCC 13869, AJ 11060 and ΔE, were cultivated to produce L-glutamic acid in the manner mentioned below. These strains were each refreshed by cultivating on an M-CM2G plate medium. The thus-refreshed strains were inoculated into a medium containing 80 g of glucose, 1 g of KH₂ PO₄, 0.4 g of MgSO₄, 30 g of (NH₄)₂ SO₄, 0.01 g of FeSO₄.7H₂ O, 0.01 g of MnSO₄.7H₂ O, 15 ml of soybean hydrolysate, 200 μg of thiamine hydrochloride, 300 μg of biotin, 1 g of Tween 80 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate) and 50 g of CaCO3 in one liter of pure water (the pH of the medium having been adjusted to 8.0 with KOH), and the cultivation was carried out at 31.5° C. for 20 hours. The results are shown in Table 4.

                  TABLE 4     ______________________________________     Strain       L-Glutamic Acid (g/liter)     ______________________________________     ATCC 13869   0     AJ 11060     0     ΔE     34     ______________________________________

With respect to the wild type strain and the strain AJ 11060, the accumulation of L-glutamic acid was not observed due to biotin present in an excess amount in the medium. In contrast, the strain ΔE well produced and accumulated L-glutamic acid.

Industrial Applicability

The dtsR gene of the present invention is a gene which plays an important role in the production of L-glutamic acid in Coryneform bacteria which are used for the production of L-glutamic acid by fermentation. When this gene is amplified in L-lysine-producing Coryneform bacteria, the L-lysine productivity is improved. When this gene is disrupted in L-glutamic acid-producing Coryneform bacteria, the L-glutamic acid productivity is improved.

    __________________________________________________________________________     #             SEQUENCE LISTING     - (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:     -    (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 2     - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:     -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:     #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 2855 base               (B) TYPE: nucleic acid               (C) STRANDEDNESS: double               (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)     -     (ix) FEATURE:               (A) NAME/KEY: CDS               (B) LOCATION: 359..1987     #ID NO:1: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ     - GATCTTGGAA CTCGACAGTT TTCACCGTCC AGTTTGGAGC GCCTGAGCTT GC - #AAGCTCCA       60     - GCAAGTCAGC ATTAGTGGAG CCTGTCACTT TTTCGTAAAT GACCTGGCCA AA - #GTCACCGT      120     - TTTGGAGCAA TTTTTCCTTC AGGAGCTCAA CGTTTAGCGG CTCTCTGGAT CG - #TGAAATGT      180     - CAACGTTCAT GGAAGCCAAT GTAGTGGGGT CGCGTCGAAA AGCGCGCTTT AA - #GGGCGACA      240     - CGCCCAAAAA GTTTTACCTT TAAAAACTAC CCGCACGCAG CACGAACCTG TT - #CAGTGATG      300     - TAAATCACCG CGGAAATATT GTGGACGTTA CCCCCGCCTA CCGCTACGAT TT - #CAAAAC      358     - ATG ACC ATT TCC TCA CCT TTG ATT GAC GTC GC - #C AAC CTT CCA GAC ATC      406     Met Thr Ile Ser Ser Pro Leu Ile Asp Val Al - #a Asn Leu Pro Asp Ile     #                 15     - AAC ACC ACT GCC GGC AAG ATC GCC GAC CTT AA - #G GCT CGC CGC GCG GAA      454     Asn Thr Thr Ala Gly Lys Ile Ala Asp Leu Ly - #s Ala Arg Arg Ala Glu     #             30     - GCC CAT TTC CCC ATG GGT GAA AAG GCA GTA GA - #G AAG GTC CAC GCT GCT      502     Ala His Phe Pro Met Gly Glu Lys Ala Val Gl - #u Lys Val His Ala Ala     #         45     - GGA CGC CTC ACT GCC CGT GAG CGC TTG GAT TA - #C TTA CTC GAT GAG GGC      550     Gly Arg Leu Thr Ala Arg Glu Arg Leu Asp Ty - #r Leu Leu Asp Glu Gly     #     60     - TCC TTC ATC GAG ACC GAT CAG CTG GCT CGC CA - #C CGC ACC ACC GCT TTC      598     Ser Phe Ile Glu Thr Asp Gln Leu Ala Arg Hi - #s Arg Thr Thr Ala Phe     # 80     - GGC CTG GGC GCT AAG CGT CCT GCA ACC GAC GG - #C ATC GTG ACC GGC TGG      646     Gly Leu Gly Ala Lys Arg Pro Ala Thr Asp Gl - #y Ile Val Thr Gly Trp     #                 95     - GGC ACC ATT GAT GGA CGC GAA GTC TGC ATC TT - #C TCG CAG GAC GGC ACC      694     Gly Thr Ile Asp Gly Arg Glu Val Cys Ile Ph - #e Ser Gln Asp Gly Thr     #           110     - GTA TTC GGT GGC GCG CTT GGT GAG GTG TAC GG - #C GAA AAG ATG ATC AAG      742     Val Phe Gly Gly Ala Leu Gly Glu Val Tyr Gl - #y Glu Lys Met Ile Lys     #       125     - ATC ATG GAG CTG GCA ATC GAC ACC GGC CGC CC - #A TTG ATC GGT CTT TAC      790     Ile Met Glu Leu Ala Ile Asp Thr Gly Arg Pr - #o Leu Ile Gly Leu Tyr     #   140     - GAA GGC GCT GGC GCT CGC ATT CAG GAC GGC GC - #T GTC TCC CTG GAC TTC      838     Glu Gly Ala Gly Ala Arg Ile Gln Asp Gly Al - #a Val Ser Leu Asp Phe     145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -     #60     - ATT TCC CAG ACC TTC TAC CAA AAC ATT CAG GC - #T TCT GGC GTT ATC CCA      886     Ile Ser Gln Thr Phe Tyr Gln Asn Ile Gln Al - #a Ser Gly Val Ile Pro     #               175     - CAG ATC TCC GTC ATC ATG GGC GCA TGT GCA GG - #T GGC AAC GCT TAC GGC      934     Gln Ile Ser Val Ile Met Gly Ala Cys Ala Gl - #y Gly Asn Ala Tyr Gly     #           190     - CCA GCC CTG ACC GAC TTC GTG GTC ATG GTG GA - #C AAG ACC TCC AAG ATG      982     Pro Ala Leu Thr Asp Phe Val Val Met Val As - #p Lys Thr Ser Lys Met     #       205     - TTC GTT ACC GGC CCA GAC GTG ATC AAG ACC GT - #C ACC GGC GAG GAA ATC     1030     Phe Val Thr Gly Pro Asp Val Ile Lys Thr Va - #l Thr Gly Glu Glu Ile     #   220     - ACC CAG GAA GAG CTT GGC GGA GCA ACC ACC CA - #C ATG GTG ACC GCT GGC     1078     Thr Gln Glu Glu Leu Gly Gly Ala Thr Thr Hi - #s Met Val Thr Ala Gly     225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -     #40     - AAC TCC CAC TAC ACC GCT GCG ACC GAT GAG GA - #A GCA CTG GAT TGG GTA     1126     Asn Ser His Tyr Thr Ala Ala Thr Asp Glu Gl - #u Ala Leu Asp Trp Val     #               255     - CAG GAC CTG GTG TCC TTC CTC CCA TCC AAC AA - #T CGC TCT TAC ACA CCA     1174     Gln Asp Leu Val Ser Phe Leu Pro Ser Asn As - #n Arg Ser Tyr Thr Pro     #           270     - CTG GAA GAC TTC GAC GAG GAA GAA GGC GGC GT - #T GAA GAA AAC ATC ACC     1222     Leu Glu Asp Phe Asp Glu Glu Glu Gly Gly Va - #l Glu Glu Asn Ile Thr     #       285     - GCT GAC GAT CTG AAG CTC GAC GAG ATC ATC CC - #A GAT TCC GCG ACC GTT     1270     Ala Asp Asp Leu Lys Leu Asp Glu Ile Ile Pr - #o Asp Ser Ala Thr Val     #   300     - CCT TAC GAC GTC CGC GAT GTC ATC GAA TGC CT - #C ACC GAC GAT GGC GAA     1318     Pro Tyr Asp Val Arg Asp Val Ile Glu Cys Le - #u Thr Asp Asp Gly Glu     305                 3 - #10                 3 - #15                 3 -     #20     - TAC CTG GAA ATC CAG GCA GAC CGC GCA GAA AA - #C GTT GTT ATT GCA TTC     1366     Tyr Leu Glu Ile Gln Ala Asp Arg Ala Glu As - #n Val Val Ile Ala Phe     #               335     - GGC CGC ATC GAA GGC CAG TCC GTT GGA TTT GT - #T GCC AAC CAG CCA ACC     1414     Gly Arg Ile Glu Gly Gln Ser Val Gly Phe Va - #l Ala Asn Gln Pro Thr     #           350     - CAG TTC GCT GGC TGC CTG GAC ATC GAC TCC TC - #T GAG AAG GCA GCT CGC     1462     Gln Phe Ala Gly Cys Leu Asp Ile Asp Ser Se - #r Glu Lys Ala Ala Arg     #       365     - TTC GTC CGC ACC TGC GAC GCG TTT AAC ATC CC - #A ATC GTC ATG CTT GTC     1510     Phe Val Arg Thr Cys Asp Ala Phe Asn Ile Pr - #o Ile Val Met Leu Val     #   380     - GAC GTC CCC GGC TTC CTT CCA GGC GCA GGC CA - #G GAG TAT GGT GGC ATC     1558     Asp Val Pro Gly Phe Leu Pro Gly Ala Gly Gl - #n Glu Tyr Gly Gly Ile     385                 3 - #90                 3 - #95                 4 -     #00     - CTG CGT CGT GGC GCA AAG CTG CTC TAC GCA TA - #C GGC GAA GCA ACC GTT     1606     Leu Arg Arg Gly Ala Lys Leu Leu Tyr Ala Ty - #r Gly Glu Ala Thr Val     #               415     - CCA AAG ATT ACC GTC ACC ATG CGT AAG GCT TA - #C GGC GGA GCG TAC TGC     1654     Pro Lys Ile Thr Val Thr Met Arg Lys Ala Ty - #r Gly Gly Ala Tyr Cys     #           430     - GTG ATG GGT TCC AAG GGC TTG GGC TCT GAC AT - #C AAC CTT GCA TGG CCA     1702     Val Met Gly Ser Lys Gly Leu Gly Ser Asp Il - #e Asn Leu Ala Trp Pro     #       445     - ACC GCA CAG ATC GCC GTC ATG GGC GCT GCT GG - #C GCA GTC GGA TTC ATC     1750     Thr Ala Gln Ile Ala Val Met Gly Ala Ala Gl - #y Ala Val Gly Phe Ile     #   460     - TAC CGC AAG GAG CTC ATG GCA GCT GAT GCC AA - #G GGC CTC GAT ACC GTA     1798     Tyr Arg Lys Glu Leu Met Ala Ala Asp Ala Ly - #s Gly Leu Asp Thr Val     465                 4 - #70                 4 - #75                 4 -     #80     - GCT CTG GCT AAG TCC TTC GAG CGC GAG TAC GA - #A GAC CAC ATG CTC AAC     1846     Ala Leu Ala Lys Ser Phe Glu Arg Glu Tyr Gl - #u Asp His Met Leu Asn     #               495     - CCG TAC CAC GCT GCA GAA CGT GGC CTG ATC GA - #C GCC GTG ATC CTG CCA     1894     Pro Tyr His Ala Ala Glu Arg Gly Leu Ile As - #p Ala Val Ile Leu Pro     #           510     - AGC GAA ACC CGC GGA CAG ATT TCC CGC AAC CT - #T CGC CTG CTC AAG CAC     1942     Ser Glu Thr Arg Gly Gln Ile Ser Arg Asn Le - #u Arg Leu Leu Lys His     #       525     - AAG AAC GTC ACT CGC CCT GCT CGC AAG CAC GG - #C AAC ATG CCA CTG     1987     Lys Asn Val Thr Arg Pro Ala Arg Lys His Gl - #y Asn Met Pro Leu     #   540     - TAAATCGGCG AATCCATAAA GGTTCAAAAG AATTCAATAA GGATTCGATA AG - #GGTTCGAT     2047     - AAGGGTTCGA TAAGGGCCGA CTTAAATGAT TGGATGTAAA GAAATACCAA TG - #AAAATTGG     2107     - CAACTCTTTA CACCCAATCT TTAAGACATG GGGGGTGGCG CTGGGCTAAT AT - #AACCGGTT     2167     - AGCGAAACGA TTAGTCCCTT GTTAGGGGGA TTAACCCTCG AAGTGGGTCG TA - #TTTTGGCG     2227     - TTTGTATGTT CACACAAGAA CCCTGCACAA CGCCTTCAAA GTACGTCGAC CA - #CGACCAAG     2287     - CGCATTATTC ACTCTCACCC TTCAGGATTT AGACTAAGAA ACCATGACTG CA - #GCACAGAC     2347     - CAAACCTGAC CTCACCACCA CGGCTGGAAA GCTGTCCGAT CTTCGCTCCC GT - #CTTGCAGA     2407     - AGCTCAAGCT CCAATGGGCG AAGCAACTGT AGAAAAAGTG CACGCTGCTG GC - #AGGAAGAC     2467     - TGCCCGCGAA CGTATCGAGT ATTTGCTCGA TGAGGGCTCT TTCGTAGAGA TC - #GATGCTCT     2527     - TGCTCGTCAC CGTTCCAAGA ACTTCGGCCT GGATGCCAAG CGTCCAGCTA CT - #GACGGTGT     2587     - TGTGACTGGT TACGGCACCA TCGATGGCCG TAAGGTCTGT GTGTTCTCCC AG - #GACGGCGC     2647     - TGTATTCGGT GGCGCTTTGG GTGAAGTTTA TGGTGAAAAG ATCGTTAAGG TT - #ATGGATCT     2707     - TGCGATCAAG ACCGGTGTGC CTTTGATCGG AATCAATGAG GGTGCTGGTG CG - #CGTATCCA     2767     - GGAAGGTGTT GTGTCTCTGG GTCTGTACTC ACAGATTTTC TACCGCAACA CC - #CAGGCGTC     2827     #           2855   ATCT CTTTGATC     - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:     -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:     #acids    (A) LENGTH: 543 amino               (B) TYPE: amino acid               (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein     -           (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: - # SEQ ID NO:2:     - Met Thr Ile Ser Ser Pro Leu Ile Asp Val Al - #a Asn Leu Pro Asp Ile     #                 15     - Asn Thr Thr Ala Gly Lys Ile Ala Asp Leu Ly - #s Ala Arg Arg Ala Glu     #             30     - Ala His Phe Pro Met Gly Glu Lys Ala Val Gl - #u Lys Val His Ala Ala     #         45     - Gly Arg Leu Thr Ala Arg Glu Arg Leu Asp Ty - #r Leu Leu Asp Glu Gly     #     60     - Ser Phe Ile Glu Thr Asp Gln Leu Ala Arg Hi - #s Arg Thr Thr Ala Phe     # 80     - Gly Leu Gly Ala Lys Arg Pro Ala Thr Asp Gl - #y Ile Val Thr Gly Trp     #                 95     - Gly Thr Ile Asp Gly Arg Glu Val Cys Ile Ph - #e Ser Gln Asp Gly Thr     #           110     - Val Phe Gly Gly Ala Leu Gly Glu Val Tyr Gl - #y Glu Lys Met Ile Lys     #       125     - Ile Met Glu Leu Ala Ile Asp Thr Gly Arg Pr - #o Leu Ile Gly Leu Tyr     #   140     - Glu Gly Ala Gly Ala Arg Ile Gln Asp Gly Al - #a Val Ser Leu Asp Phe     145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -     #60     - Ile Ser Gln Thr Phe Tyr Gln Asn Ile Gln Al - #a Ser Gly Val Ile Pro     #               175     - Gln Ile Ser Val Ile Met Gly Ala Cys Ala Gl - #y Gly Asn Ala Tyr Gly     #           190     - Pro Ala Leu Thr Asp Phe Val Val Met Val As - #p Lys Thr Ser Lys Met     #       205     - Phe Val Thr Gly Pro Asp Val Ile Lys Thr Va - #l Thr Gly Glu Glu Ile     #   220     - Thr Gln Glu Glu Leu Gly Gly Ala Thr Thr Hi - #s Met Val Thr Ala Gly     225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -     #40     - Asn Ser His Tyr Thr Ala Ala Thr Asp Glu Gl - #u Ala Leu Asp Trp Val     #               255     - Gln Asp Leu Val Ser Phe Leu Pro Ser Asn As - #n Arg Ser Tyr Thr Pro     #           270     - Leu Glu Asp Phe Asp Glu Glu Glu Gly Gly Va - #l Glu Glu Asn Ile Thr     #       285     - Ala Asp Asp Leu Lys Leu Asp Glu Ile Ile Pr - #o Asp Ser Ala Thr Val     #   300     - Pro Tyr Asp Val Arg Asp Val Ile Glu Cys Le - #u Thr Asp Asp Gly Glu     305                 3 - #10                 3 - #15                 3 -     #20     - Tyr Leu Glu Ile Gln Ala Asp Arg Ala Glu As - #n Val Val Ile Ala Phe     #               335     - Gly Arg Ile Glu Gly Gln Ser Val Gly Phe Va - #l Ala Asn Gln Pro Thr     #           350     - Gln Phe Ala Gly Cys Leu Asp Ile Asp Ser Se - #r Glu Lys Ala Ala Arg     #       365     - Phe Val Arg Thr Cys Asp Ala Phe Asn Ile Pr - #o Ile Val Met Leu Val     #   380     - Asp Val Pro Gly Phe Leu Pro Gly Ala Gly Gl - #n Glu Tyr Gly Gly Ile     385                 3 - #90                 3 - #95                 4 -     #00     - Leu Arg Arg Gly Ala Lys Leu Leu Tyr Ala Ty - #r Gly Glu Ala Thr Val     #               415     - Pro Lys Ile Thr Val Thr Met Arg Lys Ala Ty - #r Gly Gly Ala Tyr Cys     #           430     - Val Met Gly Ser Lys Gly Leu Gly Ser Asp Il - #e Asn Leu Ala Trp Pro     #       445     - Thr Ala Gln Ile Ala Val Met Gly Ala Ala Gl - #y Ala Val Gly Phe Ile     #   460     - Tyr Arg Lys Glu Leu Met Ala Ala Asp Ala Ly - #s Gly Leu Asp Thr Val     465                 4 - #70                 4 - #75                 4 -     #80     - Ala Leu Ala Lys Ser Phe Glu Arg Glu Tyr Gl - #u Asp His Met Leu Asn     #               495     - Pro Tyr His Ala Ala Glu Arg Gly Leu Ile As - #p Ala Val Ile Leu Pro     #           510     - Ser Glu Thr Arg Gly Gln Ile Ser Arg Asn Le - #u Arg Leu Leu Lys His     #       525     - Lys Asn Val Thr Arg Pro Ala Arg Lys His Gl - #y Asn Met Pro Leu     #   540     __________________________________________________________________________ 

What is claimed is:
 1. A biologically pure culture of an L-glutamic acid-producing Coryneform bacterium having substitution, deletion, insertion, addition or inversion of one or more nucleotides in a nucleotide sequence of a gene encoding an amino acid sequence comprising amino acid residues 37 to 543 of SEQ ID NO: 2, or a promoter thereof, on a chromosome, so that a protein having an activity to impart surfactant resistance to Coryneform bacteria does not normally function.
 2. An isolated DNA fragment obtained from the genome of a Coryneform bacterium and encoding a protein comprising an amino acid sequence which comprises amino acid residues 37 to 543 of the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, said protein imparting surfactant resistance to the Coryneform bacterium when the protein is expressed in the Coryneform bacterium.
 3. The isolated DNA of claim 2, which comprises nucleotides 467 to 1987 in the sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 1. 4. A recombinant DNA containing the DNA of claim
 2. 5. A Coryneform bacterium transformed with the recombinant DNA of claim
 4. 6. A method for producing L-lysine, comprising cultivating the Coryneform bacterium of claim 5 in a liquid culture medium to produce L-lysine in the culture medium, followed by isolating the L-lysine.
 7. An isolated DNA encoding a protein which is a mutant of an amino acid sequence comprising amino acid residues 37 to 543 of the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, whereinat least one amino acid residue in the sequence is substituted or deleted, or at least one amino acid residue is inserted between two adjacent amino acid residues in the sequence, or at least one amino acid residue is added to the sequence; and the protein imparts surfactant resistance to a Coryneform bacterium when the protein is expressed in the Coryneform bacterium.
 8. The isolated DNA of claim 7, wherein the amino acid sequence comprising amino acid residues 37 to 543 of the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 is encoded by nucleotides 467 to 1987 in the sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 1. 9. A recombinant DNA containing the DNA of claim
 7. 10. A Coryneform bacterium transformed with the recombinant DNA of claim
 9. 11. A method for producing L-lysine, comprising cultivating the Coryneform bacterium of claim 10 in a liquid culture medium to produce L-lysine in the culture medium, followed by isolating the L-lysine.
 12. An isolated DNA encoding a protein which is a mutant of an amino acid sequence corresponding to amino acid residues 37 to 543 of the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, whereinat least one amino acid residue in the sequence is substituted or deleted, or at least one amino acid is inserted between two adjacent amino acid residues in the sequence; the protein does not impart surfactant resistance to a Coryneform bacterium when the protein is expressed in the Coryneform bacterium; and said DNA can substitute for a DNA encoding an amino acid sequence comprising amino acid residues 37 to 543 of SEQ ID NO: 2, on a chromosome of a Coryneform bacterium, by homologous recombination.
 13. The isolated DNA of claim 12, comprising a mutant of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 in which at least nucleotides 766 to 1366 of SEQ ID NO: 1 are deleted.
 14. The isolated DNA of claim 12, comprising a mutant of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 in which nucleotides 766 to 1366 of SEQ ID NO: 1 are deleted.
 15. A recombinant DNA containing the DNA of claim
 12. 16. A Coryneform bacterium transformed with the recombinant DNA of claim
 15. 17. A method for producing L-glutamic acid, comprising cultivating the Coryneform bacterium of claim 16 in a liquid culture medium to produce L-glutamic acid in the culture medium, followed by isolating the L-glutamic acid. 